Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 - Page 20

How Smart Is
Your Industry?
Combining expertise from various
fields, Pori is pushing the boundaries of
innovation with great results
Rooted on strong industrial tradition, a number of
Finnish cities is making the transition to smart cities of
the future. One of the pioneering communities in this
regard is Pori, located on the west coast of the country.
With 85,000 inhabitants, Pori is the 11th biggest city in
Finland – and, more importantly, the Pori City Region is
the 7th biggest work and economic area in Finland with
138 000 inhabitants. According to a report by Ministry
of Employment and the Economy, Pori City Region is
among the top three most positively developing regions
in the land and a key industrial powerhouse.
F
or decades, Pori has been known as
the place for “heavy-duty” engineering. Several major international metal
industry companies with their extensive
subcontracting networks are located in the
area, with a product offering that reaches
from huge oil rigs to combo harvesters and
solar panels. While the fields of industry
are diverse, there is a common ground here:
focus on innovation is the first and foremost
issue for local companies.
Perfect Package
Kristian Vainio, Business Development
Director for the City of Pori, says that the
city combines hi-tech, energy and marine
expertise in a rather unprecedented manner
18 Nordicum
in Finland. “We have a great innovative setting, where there are breakthroughs made in
various fields – and the entire ecosystem will
benefit from this.”
One example of this bridging of industries is the offshore wind power park that
is to be constructed just off the Pori coast
in Tahkoluoto. Suomen Hyötytu [H